Resident Evil 5. Is it racist? This blogger thinks so.

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Imperial
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There's not much to say that hasn't already been said. Someone is pushing the panic button without reason. The game might get a little more flack for the perceived racial message once it hits the States, but I doubt it will be of any great consequence. You can still get your hands on the Grand Theft Auto series, despite all the negative attention it's received. I would be surprised if RE5's "race war" generates even half as much controsversy as the hot coffee fiasco.
Minorities, especially the black and hispanic ones (the latter being only a "minority" in name), will get pissed off at anything these days; such examples include Speedy Gonzales cartoons, Jango Fett, all the black people in the Matrix being killed by white Agents, etc.
Ironically, my Hispanic friends love Speedy Gonzales. They also enjoyed playing RE4. Go figure.
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wing zero alpha
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Imperial wrote:Ironically, my Hispanic friends love Speedy Gonzales. They also enjoyed playing RE4. Go figure.
I used to watch those cartoons with my own friend and his parents (who immigrated from Mexico). Not only did they love it, but they liked the fact Warner Bros. made a cartoon that centered around Mexico in a relatively positive light.
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AmuroNT1
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I think the real problem here is just that people are assigning meaning to something where there is none. Capcom probably didn't go into RE5's planning process saying "We want this game to be fast, fun, and offend as many people as possible." They just wanted to make a game. Odds are they wanted to set it somewhere that most players aren't familiar with, to add a sense of mystique and exoticism to the game.

Slightly off-topic, I found it pretty funny that WB tried to pull the Speedy Gonzales shorts for being offensive, but Hispanic anti-defamation leagues said that they liked the character for being heroic and clever.
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ZeBaron
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AmuroNT1 wrote:I think the real problem here is just that people are assigning meaning to something where there is none. Capcom probably didn't go into RE5's planning process saying "We want this game to be fast, fun, and offend as many people as possible." They just wanted to make a game. Odds are they wanted to set it somewhere that most players aren't familiar with, to add a sense of mystique and exoticism to the game.
Exactly. US? Done it. Europe? Done it. Antarctica? Done it. Middle of the ocean? Done it. Africa...why not?
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wing zero alpha
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AmuroNT1 wrote:I think the real problem here is just that people are assigning meaning to something where there is none.
As I said before, people like these don't follow logic and they don't research their material, so it's easy for them to harp on "hidden messages" that aren't there to begin with. As well, unlike Rockstar, Capcom isn't a game developer that's looking to start controversy, so someone would really have to go out of the company's way just to piss people off willingly.
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dreacon
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i posted what i think on that site, to avoid any flak i may catch on this one for a lack od sympathy and my colorful use of words.
but honestly Ever play a WWII game?
You kill Germans or Japanesse people, now yeah some Neo Nazi may get offended about it, but i'm part German and you dont see me going "Oh the game developers are Racist, the player kills exclusivley Germans!"
no, the oposite actualy, killing Nazis in a safe and FAKE setting is one of my passtimes, and the same idea with RE4, again, it was a GAME nothing more its not something one needs to take in some real wold context.
games are a means of entertainment nothing more and something with a super fictional story like RE is even more pron to keep out of a real wold context, at least thats what i think.
and after watching the trailor, looks to me we're taking on more Lasplagas, and those things dont care what color the host is, even if the host may be shot at, so why should we?
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turkishproverb
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wing zero alpha wrote:Minorities, especially the black and hispanic ones (the latter being only a "minority" in name), will get pissed off at anything these days; such examples include Speedy Gonzales cartoons....
Actually, it was the opposite there (At least the time i knew about). The network pulled the cartoons as "Racist" and most of the the Hispanic leadership got mad over it.
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J-Lead wrote:This particular comment really strikes me as the most relevant to the big picture.
A commenter wrote:It seems whenever a black man is depicted in video games they take flack.

1. Black man who speaks ebonics: racist.
2. Black man shooting whites: feeding on white fears of black crime!
3. Black man shooting blacks: promoting black on black crime!
4. Black man shot by white man: promoting racial cleansing!
5. No black man in game: exclusion.
6. Black man as an educated, proper English speaking character: token.

WTF, I give up, no more blacks in video games. Let's just make all game characters purple and call it a day.
It pretty much sums up my feelings as well. A lot of people (by my experiance, mostly white people for some reason, who have no real right or duty to do so in the first place,) seem to love pointing out nonexistant racial undertones in various media. It's not only aggrivating to those who can see the real problems when they do appear, it actually helps fan the flames of racial tension. It's ludicrous!
Thank you for posting that. You've summed up everything right there.
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wing zero alpha
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turkishproverb wrote:Actually, it was the opposite there (At least the time i knew about). The network pulled the cartoons as "Racist" and most of the the Hispanic leadership got mad over it.
At the same time I know several Hispanic communities had protested over the Speedy Gonzales cartoons, but I'm not surprised that other communities got offended by the pull.
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